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Industry Entertainment Monsta
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By Larry Garfield, Saturday 18 January 2003  
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Larry Garfield takes a look at Monsta, a turn-based action strategy puzzle game thingie. It's quite fun, once you get used to the unusual gameplay. Read on for more.
Games come in all shapes and sizes. Some are fast paced action games, some are puzzles, some are strategy and "thinking man" games, others exist just to look cool. And then there are odd games like Industry Entertainment's Monsta, an action strategy puzzle that looks cool. Once the user figures out exactly what that means, it's a lot of fun.
 | Monsta looks cool and is fun, after you figure out the game play
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Monsta comes in two versions, a 580 KB color version and a 394 KB grayscale version. Users need install only the appropriate version for their device. Although the game will run on both types of devices, it is designed as a color game so it looks and plays much better on color hardware. It looks even better on 320x320 displays, even though it does not directly take advantage of either high-res system.
In Monsta the user plays Joe, a bald guy with a gun who hates Monstas and wants to kill all Monstas, just on general principle. That is fine, because the Monstas feel the same way about Joe. That is the full extent of the story and setting of Monsta. The included one-page manual describes the game play in more detail, but it still takes some playing to get used to it. There is also no in-game documentation.
On each of Monsta's 50 levels, Joe starts somewhere on a tile-based board, as do assorted Monstas. The player has three moves to take for Joe, which can include moving up, down, left, or right, or firing in any of those directions. After Joe has moved, each of the Monstas, in turn, take their own turns. Different Monstas have a different number of moves and can survive a different number of hits before dying. Joe can take 3 hits.
Each of the 13 Monstas also has a different AI, ranging from exceedingly dumb to downright sneaky, and appearances ranging from a blob of goo to a demonic Mr. Spock. Some attack only if they are next to Joe, others can fire projectile weapons. There are also power-ups on the board that Joe can collect to get points or hit points. In later missions, Joe can swap his rifle for more powerful weapons, but the Monstas also get more powerful weapons, like bombs.
Whenever it is Joe's turn, one corner of the screen will display a pair of meter bars, one along each of the screen edges, that show Joe's remaining moves (yellow) and Joe's remaining hit points (red). If Joe is hit too many times he will die, and the level restarts. After Joe dies 3 times, the game is over.
Once we got used to the game play, Monsta is really addictive. We found ourselves playing far longer than we had planned just trying to figure out how to defeat the Mr. Spock Monsta. The graphics are also very well done, with every move well animated.
 | Some of Joe's more colorful commentary can be disabled
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The key to the game is to learn each Monsta's AI and pattern. Once the player figures that out, Monsta becomes a strategy game of positioning Joe in the right place to cause the Monstas to behave in certain ways, making them easier to kill. In some levels Joe must kill all Monstas, in others he need only make it to a doorway to the next level. There are also traps to send Joe back a level, so be careful.
The player uses the front panel buttons to control Joe, and the configuration is customizable. The game will detect if it is on a Palm Tungsten T and take advantage of the Tungsten T's NavPad, which is by far the nicest way to play. Almost all in-game commands are accessible via the NavPad itself. At the start of each level Joe will make some wisecrack, which in some cases can be PG-13 rated. For that reason, Monsta includes a "Censored" mode to allow the user to toggle off the less kid-friendly commentary. Audio can be toggled on and off, or at least what audio there is. The sound effects in Monsta are limited to simple bleeps and clicks.
The player can save and load games, although we'd rather be able to skip directly to some level that we have already reached, even if we lose our score in the process. Since there does not appear to be a high-score list, that is no great loss.
Conclusion
Monsta is an addictive, visually attractive game that can be played a little at a time or for a long time. At least, after the user gets used to the unusual game play. We'd like to see the ability to skip to a previously reached level independent of saved games. We'd also like to hear some cool sound effects. Monsta already looks cool; it would be nice if it could sound cool as well. Still, once the initial learning curve is surmounted Monsta is a fun way to waste a few hours, which is of course the whole point of a game.
Monsta is available now from the Industry Entertainment web site for $15.00 USD. A four-level demo version is also available.
- What's positive: Addictive gameplay, cool animiation
- What's negative: Can't skip directly to previously-reached levels, only basic sounds
Overall: 
Conclusion
Monsta is an addictive, visually attractive game that can be played a little at a time or for a long time. At least, after the user gets used to the unusual game play. We'd like to see the ability to skip to a previously reached level independent of saved games. We'd also like to hear some cool sound effects. Monsta already looks cool; it would be nice if it could sound cool as well. Still, once the initial learning curve is surmounted Monsta is a fun way to waste a few hours, which is of course the whole point of a game.
What's positive:
Addictive gameplay, cool animiation
What's negative:
Can't skip directly to previously-reached levels, only basic sounds
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